Tonight we begin untangling the puzzle Portland has to solve on its perimeter. There are four players with similar roles competing for four spots, and they are not especially compatible with one another. And this could push Ja Morant to the bench. At least that is what Marc J. Spears anticipated for the outlet Andscape before rewriting the lines of the article referring to the former Memphis Grizzlies man.
Morant has started three of the Blazers’ four preseason games and came off the bench in one of them. Judging by his coach’s leanings, the plan appears to be for him to start alongside Damian Lillard in the starting five. That said, it would not be surprising to see him absent from the lineup for a stretch of the season given over to experimentation.
Another of the guards involved in this battle at the Trail Blazers is Scoot Henderson, who learned yesterday that he will be a restricted free agent next summer after failing to reach an extension agreement. “The man upstairs doesn’t make mistakes. I am who I am. I’ll keep playing my best basketball,” he said.
After a difficult start to his career, Henderson began to show flashes toward the end of last season. His reward has been the return of the team’s most important player in the last 50 years and the arrival of an All-Star-calibre player at his same position. Not to mention the future of Jrue Holiday. “I usually let my agents handle those matters. My job is to keep showing up and play the best I can, being the person I am and letting my game do the talking”.
(Cover photo by David Gonzales-Imagn Images)